Charles Rangel: “I would like to make it abundantly clear to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the concept that I think is…”

“I would like to make it abundantly clear to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the concept that I think is disgraceful has nothing to do with individuals but has something to do with the American people having the right, in my opinion, to visit any country that they would want to visit. I really believe that it is very bad policy for Americans, who are able to go to China, able to go to North Korea, able to go into Moscow, to be able to say that we are this fearful that we will be overwhelmed by the people, the good people in Cuba, or by Fidel Castro or by the military. So it seems to me that it is really offensive to the American people for someone to say that they have such little confidence in their willpower to succumb to communism in Cuba when we are strong enough, we are the strongest Nation in the entire world, to be able to say that flag that flies so hard is our flag.”